Saturday, January 5, 2008

Sunday Dinner, January 6, 2008

The inaugural edition of Sunday Dinner 2008 is here! And I'm starting the new year off right by actually cooking Sunday Dinner this week. To be more exact, my Sunday Dinner is simmering on the stove right now.

I just made a 5 quart Dutch oven brimful with my homemade Portuguese bean soup and boy, does it ever smell good! I may make some cornbread tomorrow after I get home from church to eat with the soup, but more than likely we'll just have crackers with it.

I also have the custard made and in the fridge to make homemade vanilla ice cream either for Sunday Dinner dessert or to make Monday or Tuesday. I found a recipe for vanilla custard ice cream and did a little tweaking to make it my own, and if I do say so myself, it makes the best vanilla ice cream I've ever had, homemade or store bought, bar none.

So, that's my menu for Sunday Dinner. Care to share yours in the comments?It's been years since I've made Portuguese Bean Soup and I just got a craving for it and got all the ingredients to make it when I did my monthly grocery shopping this morning. I never make it the same way twice but it's always good. I plan on posting recipes for the bean soup and for my homemade red beans and rice as well as my new homemade vanilla ice cream on MY RECIPE BLOG sometime in the next few days. I'll try to get it done tonight, but no promises. This has been a full and busy day. Details in just a bit.

TAMMY, I haven't forgotten that I promised to give you my Red Beans & Rice recipe but it's like my bean soup recipe: I never make it exactly the same way twice. Each time I make it I use what I have on hand, a little more of this, leave that out this time, etc. I rarely measure anything so I'll have to try to nail some measurements down a little more accurately for the bean soup and the red beans and rice. I want to offer a special "THANK YOU!" to my good friend ELEANOR@TAME THE SHREW for coming to my assistance with some coding tips for my blog. She took pity on my OCD and emailed me the directions for changing the header and header wrapper measurements in my template.

See? My new header? It no hang-y over no more, LOL! And now I can use the pale ice blue background that I wanted. I approached probing into the innards of my template with much fear and trembling, but Eleanor knew how apprehensive I was about fiddling with my blog's insides and was very encouraging and precise in her instructions. Whew! With Eleanor's much appreciated help I managed to fix the Header That Hung Over. And I felt so full of myself and so smart that I even dared to venture into the inner workings of CECIL'S BLOG and fix her Hung Over Header, too!

Thanks again, dear ELEANOR! I appreciate so much your kindness and your help. :o)And now the details from my busy day. I know you've just been hanging on the edge of your office chair from all the suspense!

I left the house this morning before 9 am to do my monthly grocery shopping. I hit *Kroger* first, then on to Wal*Mart. Jessica called when I was checking out at Kro*ger (of course! while I was trying to use my debit card and pay up!) and asked if it would be okay if she met me at Wal*mart and then came home with us for the rest of the afternoon. Jason would join us when he got off work for supper. Did you see how she worked in that self-invitation to supper in the midst of the other request? Of course I was blinded by visions of playing with Emmy for the rest of the day and said Yes, LOL! ;-)

Jessica has been sick for the last several days with the same crud everyone else has had, I'm assuming. Anyhow, she was too sick to work on Friday and spent the day in bed. She still wasn't feeling too swooft today and wanted me to help take care of Emmy and give Jessica a bit of a break. As it turned out my sister Cecil came over and spent all afternoon/evening with us and helped take care of Emmy as much or more than I did.

**For "take care of Emmy" you can read "played with Emmy and had a grand ol' time." ;-)

I made the custard for the homemade vanilla ice cream and put it in the fridge to chill and then put a big beef roast in the oven for our supper.

By the way: To Whom It May Concern: (This may be you! Are you concerned?) Kro*ger has beef chuck roasts on sale for $1.97 a pound with your Kro*ger card. Okay, commercial over. I just thought some of you might need to know that bit of information.

I had a bit of time while the roast was in the oven to play with Emmy, then it was time to peel the potatoes to add in with the roast. While the potatoes cooked Jessica and I cleaned off the table and set it for supper. As soon as the potatoes were done I thickened the gravy from the roast with a little cornstarch and water and we sat down to a supper of beef roast, roasted potatoes and gravy. Jason had gotten off work in time to eat supper with us and then have ice cream.

All in all it was a good day of food, fun and fellowship with family, but now Diane is TARD. Besides our supper tonight, as soon as everybody left for home I started cooking my Portuguese Bean Soup for my Sunday Dinner, so I've actually cooked 2 big meals tonight.I don't know why bean soup sounded so good at this particular time. Or soup of any kind, really. As I type this at almost 11:30 pm it's 57ºF and the high for Sunday and Monday both is supposed be hovering around 70ºF. Even for Arkansas that's a little extreme and our weather geeks are predicting storms overnight Monday night into Tuesday, possibly severe. But I wanted bean soup, dadgummit, so I made soup. So there! Nyah nyah nyah! ;-)

The unseasonably warm weather also makes all these snowflakes, ice and snowmen seem kind of lame, but I'm hoping Winter will return from Canada and points Northerly soon and make my Winter header and theme seem all valid and appropriate again.

And with that I will bid you adieu. May God meet all your needs, and may you have enough to share is my prayer for each of you.

23 comments:

Betty said...

Hi Diane,

I enjoyed reading your blog tonight. Sounds like you have been doing a lot of cooking lately.

I would love to learn to make name tags such as the one at the bottom of your post and would like to ask you how I can learn. Do I have to have a special software or just what do I need to get started? I have one or two that a friend made for me that I have been using on my blog, but I want to learn how so I can have several.

Thanks for any pointers you can give me on this.

Betty said...

I forgot to tell you how much I love your header.

Betty said...

Diane, after looking at your header and how it's centered, I went back and looked at mine and realize mine is off center.

What do I need to do to get it more centered on my blog site?

I've only been blogging for a couple of months and still have so much to learn. I would appreciate any help you can give me on this.

Thanks,
Betty

Barb said...

We're in the mood for soup around here, too. The storm we were promised has arrived and it's snowing. This is the storm that hit California and thankfully, it weakened a lot before it landed in the Grand Valley, but it's cold and the wind is kicking up and we're in for a few days of it.

So tomorrow I'm making a big crockpot of beef stew. And I plan to get a loaf of bread going in my bread machine. To me, that's the perfect meal for snowy weather.

I'm so glad you're finally feeling better, Diane. People are sick all over bloggityville right now. Hope you stay healthy for a long while, my friend.

Mountain Mama said...

I love your header! Birds are so pretty and your Cardinal proves it!
Hey I went to your recipe blog because I was curious about what makes bean soup 'portuguese' but you haven't added your recipe yet.
I just bought a bag of beans recently and because of the cold rainy, windy weather we are having, I think it's a great idea.
My niece sent me a recipe for Olive Cheese bread today and I'm thinking I will make it to have with my bean soup. It sure sounded good. I should post the recipe on my blog.
Glad you had another wonderful day with your girl's.

Thanks so much for your prayers for my friend Joan.
Love to you,
Bev

Paulette said...

Hey Diane,
Happy new year to you, I hope this next New year is full of great things for you and your family.
It was such a wonderful Christmas season and I think I am finally settleing in to all the changes my life has had over the past few years.
The soup sounds wonderful but I would really love the red beans and rice recipe, my favorite!!
Have a Blessed week

Our Home Schooler and Jen said...

praying Jessica gets better soon

bless you Diane

Jen

Alex said...

I thought I'd escape leaving your blog hungry by visiting on Saturday instead of Sunday...but...NOOOOOOOOOOOO, you had to talk about the Sunday dinner early, didnt you? lol

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Diane,
I'm glad you got your header fixed. After you left a comment on my page the other day, I went and looked at my header and walla, it was hanging over. Oh well, I ain't gonna lose no sleep over it. LOL. It could be because of the template I picked out also. Yesterday afternoon while we were in Jonesboro at the Skating Party, a couple of the Mother's had dropped their Son's of and had to go do their shopping as well. When they came back they said Wal-Mart was a madhouse. At least I didn't have to go there. LOL. My Parents went grocery shopping this past Thursday or Friday in Jonesboro as well. They go to Kroger also. While they were there, my Dad called me and said they had the coffee that I use on sale for like $5.00 and if I needed any. I said sure. So they bought me 2 containers of the coffee I use. I used to buy alot of things from Kroger as well a few years back. I have a Kroger card also. I haven't been there in a good while. My parents usually go there on their once a month Grocery shopping as well. Maybe when we get straightened out, I can be able to go back there and do some more shopping there. I hate that Jessica isn't feeling well. I do pray that she will get better. This rollercoaster ride of weather sure don't help people with their colds and allergies tho. Your Portuguese Bean Soup sounds yummy. You will have to post the recipe on your Recipe Blog and let me know so I can check it out. I have no idea what I will cook today. It's just me and the girls now and I usually don't cook anything big like I do when hubby is at home. When we got home last night, I was, as you would say, TARD, and I put some frozen foods in the oven and we had that. I love Red Beans & Rice. It's been a long time since I've had that. Years ago, I worked at a Cajun Restuarant in Jonesboro. I can't remember the name of the Restaurant now, but it's where Shogun's is now, off of Phillips Drive. I worked in the kitchen and did the prepping of the Jumbalaya. I made many of BIG bowls of Jumbalaya. Your Vanilla Ice Cream sounds yummy also. Do you have an Ice Cream Maker? I remember years ago when I was a little girl, my Parents would make Homemade Ice Cream the old fashion way. They had an Ice Cream Machine that you had to put ice and salt in. It sure did taste good back then. Yesterday was a windy day. It made it rather chilly outside as well. It's 61 degrees as I'm typing this. I sure hope it don't get too bad on Monday night into Tuesday. I don't have a storm cellar anymore, so I will be watching the weather for sure. You know me, I'm all about the weather here. LOL. Well, take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Diane!

I LOVE your new header! I have a soft spot for cardinals dontcha know.

We don't have a Kroger. :o(

Bean soup sounds delicious! I made chili. I love it with cornbread. Bennie prefers crackers.

Give that cutie pie Emmy a little squeeze for me! :o)

Carole Burant said...

Good morning dear Diane:-)

As always, it's such a pleasure to read your news and admire your beautiful header!! Isn't it wonderful how our friends are so willing to help us with techie stuff like that:-) I've learned so much from all of you!!

I've never heard of Portugese bean soup so I'll have to check out your recipe. I've never made my own ice cream before either....I'm soooo deprived! lol

It's 35F here right now which is very mild for us for this time of year...a heatwave! lol The weather sure has been very strange everywhere lately. From frigid temps to above normal temps in a matter of a couple of days!!

Glad you were able to spend time with Emmy...she's such a little doll and can well imagine how much fun she is to watch:-) xoxo

BigDadGib said...

I love bean soup!
:)

Linda said...

I do love a visit with you Diane. I feel so at home. The soup sounds wonderful no matter what the temperature is. We're having a mild day here today too.
Aren't sweet little granddaughters the best? What a blessing that they leave close by and you can see her often.
Have a blessed sunday and enjoy that soup!

Betty said...

Hi Diane,

First of all, I went back and edited my profile and checked the block where it said to show my email address. I realized I had not done that after a couple of people asked me for it. Feel free to email me anytime. Just leave something in the subject line to let me know it's you so I won't delete it without opening it.

My blogging site has been really doing crazy things today.

Google
Error

Not Found
The requested URL /1.1 was not found on this server.

The above error message is one I got when trying to access your blog from my sidebar and also when I tried to access Hope's at Second Time Around. One time when I clicked on your name it brought up Hope's page.

Also, my header is not loading all the way at times Sometimes it's just a long, narrow strip that doesn't even show much of the picture at all.

Since you and Hope both told me that my header seemed to be pretty much centered I decided to let well enough alone.

Diane, you are so sweet to offer to help me. You are so willing to go that extra mile for me, and you don't even know me. I just love making friends online. There is nothing quite like it, don't you agree? I hope you know I would do the same for you or anyone else who might need my help.

I have a couple of name tags or buttons as you call them that I can use in my posts. I do appreciate you offering to make one or two for me, but I really am interesed in learning to make buttons, graphics and all kinds of things to go on my site. I would love to learn to make banners like you made for yourself. That is beautiful, one of the prettiest I have seen. You are so talented.

I wouldn't be afraid for one second to give you access to my online account as I trust you completely. And I will give you that information and let you help me if I see that I can't do it on my own.

Is the software expensive to buy? If it is very expensive then I might not buy it as chances would be great that I wouldn't have the sense to learn how to use it and couldn't take it back for a refund.

Now I've taken up a lot of space on your blog. Anyway, before I go, I just want to thank you over and over for offering to help me in so many ways, and you have already helped me through your comments. I still may have to call on you for help, but I like to be independent if I can.

Love and Prayers,
Betty

Rachel said...

I always end up hungry when I come here! Wonder why that is?? I'll bet your roast is so good!! Thanks for the Kroger commercial! I go there to shop most of the time.

I had a Taco Bell crunch something or the other...I forget now what it was called, but it was right tasty! Someone told me they were good. Oh, a Crunchwrap or something like that???

It was warm here today and breezy. I was outside with short sleeves on and did fine!!

Have a wonderful week!!

Dawn said...

We had dinner today with the missionaries from Ethiopia - we had a wonderful time with them and their adorable kids. He is Somalian and she's an Americn missionary's kid. I can just see my grandkids looking like their kids someday with my Kenyan DIL and big tall white son.

Unknown said...

Diane: Yes, the new header is refreshing. And I'll be on the next plane to have dinner at your house. I'm inviting myself!:)

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Diane,
It's 5:28a.m. and 64 degrees outside. It is windy also. I can hear it sitting here at my computer desk. I'm afraid it might be kind of rough tonight. I sure hope not tho. When you have time, stop by. I have something for you on my today's post. Take care my friend and have a great day. May God Bless You and Yours.

Love & Hugs,
Karen H.

Anonymous said...

Just give me a "heads up" when you've posted the red beans and rice recipe ;)

I'll be making pot of soup beans in the near future, but I think I'll wait at least until the next chilly day, 64º here this afternoon. I love to save on the electricity as I've turned off my heater, but dadgummit my sinus are killing me today!

I love your header, but then I'm partial to cardinals as you know!

Love YOU!

Shari said...

Hi Diane, I do that with my chili soup. I don't really have a recipe and it's not the always the same. This and that. That is, when I do cook. LOL. I only cook because I have to. :)

The "behind the scenes" with the blog can be scary. I am learning slowly how to change/add things. It's pretty cool, actually.

I stopped here from Karen's.

Take care and God bless.

Betty said...

Hi Diane,

Where are you today? I miss you.

I have an award for you on my blog for you to pick up at your convenience.

I hope you are not sick.

Granny said...

I made clam chowder early Friday because we didn't know if our power would stay on. Saturday, we reheated it. Sunday, we ate the leftovers from Thursday.

Today I cooked. Meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, white beans, and candied carrots. Double batch of course so I don't cook dinner tomorrow.

Should I move back to J'boro? Our boneless chuck here today was $2.69/pound. About once every 6 months it drops to $1.99.

Nevertheless I bought a couple of medium size roasts and cut them up and repackaged when I got home.

I can never figure out why people pay $4.00/lb for stew meat when they can work with any old cut of beef.

Hope Jessica's better. Sounds like you've had a busy time.

Please say hi to your sisters. I'm just now well enough to start catching up (actually wrote something this morning) and I don't know when I'll get to zz.

Myrna said...

Bean soup--sounds good. We had Fifteen Bean soup for New Year's Day. It, with a little cornbread, was delicious1 That's our customary New Year's Meal. I just use the dried bean mix from Kroger, but I add onions, tomatos, chilli powder or green chilies, some kind of meant--this year, beef sausage, and anything else I have that hits my fancy. Yummy!

Glad you had a chance for some play time with Emmy. That girl is truly a charmer!